[FinTech Shark Week] Into the Depths: Busting the Myths About FinTech “Tech” Readiness with Guest Brian Anderson
Wrestling Payments Podcast: Season 3 - Episode 17
Many financial institutions feel stuck, believing myths about technology are holding them back from innovation. In this episode of Wrestling Payments, host Elyssa Morgan talks with Brian Anderson, Vice President of Banking Transformation at Finzly, about how to bust these myths. They discuss practical strategies that help institutions compete in today’s rapidly evolving payments ecosystem without waiting for core systems to catch up.
Brian explains how financial institutions can move from a core-reliant to a core-complimentary mindset. This shift allows them to transform payments from a cost center into a strategic revenue driver. He details how modern, API-driven platforms create flexibility and open up new opportunities to serve customers. This approach helps smaller institutions build stickier relationships and compete effectively with larger banks and fintechs.
The conversation also highlights the importance of top-down support. Brian emphasizes that technology decisions are a business strategy, not just an IT project. To truly innovate, institutions need buy-in from the board and C-suite. They must reframe technology investments as essential for long-term growth and competitive advantage, moving beyond a traditional, project-by-project mindset.
Download Episode Transcript
Guest-at-a-Glance
💡 Name: Brian Anderson
💡 What he does: Vice President, Banking Transformation
💡 Company: Finzly
💡 Noteworthy: Helps financial institutions innovate by adopting a best-of-breed strategy for money movement.
💡 Where to find him: LinkedIn
Key Insights
Move From Core-Reliant to Core-Complimentary
Financial institutions no longer need to rely solely on their core provider for innovation. The modern approach is to build a "core-complimentary" ecosystem. This mindset shift allows institutions to adopt a best-of-breed strategy, integrating specialized solutions through APIs. Core providers are increasingly opening their systems, enabling partnerships with fintechs that offer advanced capabilities. This creates flexibility and allows banks and credit unions to respond quickly to new customer needs. By building around the core instead of running everything through it, institutions can introduce new services and platforms, like better digital account opening or modern payment experiences. This strategy helps them innovate at speed, solve specific member problems, and stay competitive without undertaking a massive, multi-year core system overhaul.
Transform Payments From a Cost Center to a Revenue Driver
Payments represent a significant, often missed, opportunity for revenue growth. Shifting the view of payments from a simple cost center to a strategic lever can unlock new income streams. This is especially true for commercial and small business customers. By providing valuable services like automated processing for homeowners associations or streamlined payroll for businesses, institutions create "stickier" relationships. These services solve operational burdens for customers, making the financial institution an indispensable partner. One bank generated 40% of its income from payments by diversifying its revenue streams this way. This proves it is possible to create non-interest income that smooths out revenue fluctuations, regardless of the interest rate environment. Focusing on payments as a value-added service drives growth and deepens customer loyalty.
Use Middleware to Gain Flexibility and Control
Implementing a middleware solution gives financial institutions ultimate control and flexibility over their technology stack. Instead of creating direct connections between a core and a single provider, middleware acts as a central hub. This allows the institution to control the data flowing between systems and "disconnect" from any provider with minimal disruption. It frees the bank or credit union from being locked into a specific vendor relationship. With middleware, you can entertain new payment providers or even a new core system without starting from scratch. This control over data and connectivity provides a deeper understanding of money movement, fueling better strategic decisions. It is a powerful way to de-risk technology choices and build a truly adaptable and future-proof payments ecosystem.
Frame Technology as a Business Strategy, Not an IT Project
For innovation to succeed, technology decisions must be treated as a core business strategy, not just an IT project. This requires a significant mindset shift at the C-suite and board level. Conversations about technology investment need to be reframed around long-term competitive advantage, customer acquisition, and new revenue streams. The most forward-thinking institutions move away from rigid annual budgeting. They adopt a more flexible approach that allows them to respond to new opportunities. Appointing a strategic product owner for payments, a role common in larger banks, ensures that there is someone dedicated to driving the vision and owning the business outcomes. This top-down support is crucial for breaking internal silos and ensuring that technology investments are directly tied to growth.
Episode Highlights
Creating Stickier Relationships Through Value-Added Services
Timestamp: [00:11:12]
The conversation explores how institutions can generate new revenue and create "stickier" customer relationships by providing unique, value-added payment services. Brian uses the example of a homeowners association (HOA) that needs to process and reconcile hundreds of regular payments. By offering a streamlined, automated solution, a bank provides an invaluable operational service, not just a transaction. This takes the burden off the business customer and creates real value. These capabilities, such as processing payroll or bulk payments, unlock new revenue opportunities and make the institution an essential partner, solidifying the relationship beyond simple transactions.
"If you can provide HOAs or municipalities the ability to easily process and reconcile those sorts of payments and make it as straight-through as you can without manual intervention, that’s a very valuable service. You’re not just providing the payment; you’re providing an operational ease of use to those particular companies, and that's just one example that will unlock new revenue capabilities."
Democratizing FinTech to Compete With Mega Banks
Timestamp: [00:15:47]
The discussion shifts to how smaller, mid-market institutions can compete with mega-banks and flashy fintechs. Brian argues that the goal is not to become a huge fintech, but to serve the community in a modern way. By partnering with fintechs, community banks can "democratize" access to modern technology and offer similar, if not better, customer experiences. He uses the example of Robinhood partnering with community banks for high-yield savings accounts, proving that even smaller institutions can play a crucial role in the broader ecosystem. As long as a bank has strong compliance and "know your customer's customer" (KYCC) processes, it has the ability to compete with just about anybody.
"While there are millions of dollars in budget there, we service many financial institutions. Through us and through other fintechs, a lot of banks and credit unions can introduce a very similar, if not better, experience than some of the big institutions."
Balancing Automation with the Human Touch
Timestamp: [00:18:03]
While innovation and automation are key, institutions must not lose the human element that differentiates them. Brian explains that being perceived as innovative helps attract younger customers who rarely visit a branch. However, these digital-first customers still value the ability to speak to a person when problems arise—something many digital-only banks fail to provide. This creates a competitive advantage for community institutions. They can offer modern solutions like real-time payments while also providing the local, personal support that builds true loyalty. Differentiating as both an innovative and a local partner ensures that customers won't leave for a faceless fintech bank.
"You won't lose them from your institution or have that ghosting process of them moving their activity to a FinTech bank. There are a lot of digital banks out there trying to have no brick and mortar, no community bank relationship, and no community member focus."
The Strategic Importance of a Payments Product Owner
Timestamp: [00:26:27]
Driving a long-term payments strategy requires dedicated ownership. Brian points out that many community institutions lack a formal product owner for payments. Often, the responsibility falls to operations staff whose primary focus is not strategic vision. To move beyond a short-term, project-based mindset, institutions must have someone who owns the payments strategy and can take it to fruition over two, three, or five years. This leader is responsible for championing new ideas and ensuring they align with business goals. Whether hired or appointed from within, their role is to drive the initiative forward. Without this focused ownership, even the best ideas will die.
"Their remit is not to look at strategy. They may have great ideas about what a new payment strategy might look like, but who is going to own that and that business strategy? Who is going to take it to fruition over the next 2, 3, or 5 years? That has to come from the C-suite and the board level at a community institution, and someone has to own it."
To hear this episode and many more like it, subscribe to Wrestling Payments on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts, or listen above.
FinTech Shark Week Episodes